# 2023 Youngstown State Penguins football team

The 2023 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Doug Phillips, the Penguins played their games at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown, Ohio. The Youngstown State Penguins football team drew an average home attendance of 10,065 in 2023.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:30 p.m. | Valparaiso* | | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | W 52–10 | 8,593 |
| September 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 5 (FBS) Ohio State* | No. 25 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | BTN | L 7–35 | 102,897 |
| September 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Robert Morris* | No. 25 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | W 48–28 | 12,826 |
| September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northern Iowa | No. 23 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | ESPN+ | L 41–44 | 10,346 |
| October 7 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 6 Southern Illinois | | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | W 31–3 | 9,767 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 10 South Dakota | No. 23 | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | L 31–34 | 3,608 |
| October 21 | 2:00 p.m. | Illinois State | No. 25 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | W 41–38 | 10,022 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | Missouri State | No. 24 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | W 44–28 | 9,880 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Indiana State | No. 22 | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN+ | W 19–7 | 4,798 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 1 South Dakota State | No. 22 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | L 0–34 | 9,303 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | at Murray State | No. 25 | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 34–17 | 5,957 |
| November 25 | 5:00 p.m. | Duquesne* | No. 21 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | W 40–7 | 3,866 |
| December 2 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Villanova* | No. 21 | Villanova StadiumPhiladelphia, PA (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 28–45 | 2,015 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 5 (FBS) Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 25 Penguins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 5 (FBS) Buckeyes | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: SW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
* Game attendance: 102,897
* Referee: David Siegle
* TV announcers (BTN): Cory Provus (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), and Brooke Fletcher (sideline reporter)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | YSU | OSU |
| First downs | 12 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 59–234 | 60–482 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–99 | 27–123 |
| Passing yards | 135 | 359 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–26–1 | 21–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:00 | 26:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Youngstown State | Passing | Mitch Davidson | 12/18, 98 yards |
| Youngstown State | Rushing | Tyshon King | 12 carries, 66 yards |
| Youngstown State | Receiving | Max Tomczak | 3 receptions, 53 yards |
| Ohio State | Passing | Kyle McCord | 14/20, 258 yards, 3 TD |
| Ohio State | Rushing | TreVeyon Henderson | 5 carries, 56 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio State | Receiving | Marvin Harrison Jr. | 7 receptions, 160 yards, 2 TD |

### at Murray State
## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | RV | 23 | 25 | 24 | 22 | | | | |
| Coaches | RV | 25 | RV | 24 | 19 | RV | 20T | RV | RV | RV | | | | |